


hounds of love

by hingabee



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Anxiety, Drowning, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Play Fighting, Sheep, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24572776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hingabee/pseuds/hingabee
Summary: Because that’s what friendsdo, or something.
Relationships: Liquid Snake/Psycho Mantis
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	hounds of love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aireyv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aireyv/gifts).



> happy birthday, have some cake

_I found a fox  
Caught by dogs  
He let me take him in my hands  
His little heart_ _It beats so fast  
And I'm ashamed of running away_ _  
_ _From nothing real  
_

  
_**1988  
** _

Their next temporary home is a small, backwater town in the cotswolds – Chipping _Something,_ though Mantis has not really payed too much attention to their journey, exhausted from the constant pressure of foreign minds against his own.

Here however, in the sparsely populated countryside of south-western England his head feels light enough that he almost forgets he is not wearing his mask for a moment.

"Shake a leg, will you? If you keep lagging behind like that we'll never make it before sundown."

Mantis nods mutely and shields his face from the sun, bright light enveloping Eli's silhouette a few feet in front of him.

His feet are swollen and his legs aching, but he knows it is pointless to complain or give up – Eli isn't a kind travel companion, he knows how to keep Mantis on edge.

Inbetween his uneven steps he occasionally pushes himself up off the ground, floating over a small distance before dropping down in the dirt again.

Thankfully Eli doesn't notice, too busy to fuss over the map to bother looking back, all he cares about is his heavy backpack filled too the brim with supplies, weapons and random knick-knacks they have picked up during their travels.

Mantis does not feel like they are traveling, though. It is more like they are fleeing, hiding away from nameless potential dangers, hidden organisations that he very well knows about but didn't consider a proper threat - not before Eli's paranoia had spilled over to him, having him tense up in fear.

Back in London where Mantis head had constantly ached - his health suffering considerably from his weakened state of mind - Eli had barged into their hotel room one night in such a panic that Mantis almost had fallen out of bed.

Apparently they were being followed, spied on, and it was all Mantis' fault because he was always so weak and sick that they were stuck in one place for a considerable amount of time.

At the time Mantis did not bother with that accusation, he had grown to see through Eli's irrational thoughts, but still he felt guilty for their predicament while combing through his friends memories of the men he had noticed from the corner of his eye.

They had looked eerily familiar, and though Mantis hadn't been completely convinced, he would not have been surprised if they had in fact been here for _him_ either, not for Eli as they had assumed at first.  
  
This is why he had to walk through the burning sun all day after getting off that terrible, stinking bus - Eli constantly complaining about the weather, the people and the fact that things were not moving fast enough for his taste.

Mantis blearily blinks against the last few beams of shy red peaking over the grass covered hills and fields, white dots spread far and wide, the distant _baa_ ing of sheep in his ears.

He picks up on the small specks of civilisation ahead of them before Eli can even make them out in the distance, the bumpy dirt road leads directly to a few small farm buildings next to a little church – somewhere close there must be the town, founded on the grounds of a medieval marketplace.

Mantis stops for a second, the faint smell of burnt wood flooding the filter of his mask, but he wills down the mild panic rising at a that before it transfers onto his friend.

"Bloody fucking sheep everywhere!" Eli grouses, picking up his pace. "You'd think people would be smart enough to keep cattle, at the least."

 _I like them._ Mantis thinks and floats closer to the wire fencing seperating them from the animals. _They are so calm._

"All they do is eat and shit - a cow or a goat will give you meat and milk. Sheep'll only leave you with itchy sweaters."

 _You have something in common then._ Mantis quips, bracing himself as Eli shoves him into the fence.

"Watch it, or I'll leave you here to graze along with them." He growls and Mantis cackles into his mask until he starts wheezing.

It is comfortable banter, Mantis still timid and shy – but with with Eli pushing his buttons just right he manages to come out of his shell more and more. Even though now he is toeing a thin line, Eli's irritation and worries pushed to their limits lately.  
  
On the last stretch of their journey, the late summer heat makes way for a chilling cold, Mantis bundling himself up in previously discarded layers, sticking closer to Eli in the dark.

He stays to pet some of the sheep when they make it to the edge of the fields, Eli leaving him behind while he makes sure the abandoned barn buildings are really as abandoned as they seem.

Mantis realises it feels nice to touch a living thing, the animal’s coarse fur still soft enough to run his fingers through it, a fragile creature, heart hammering quickly under all of that thick wool. It is so warm too, familiar, and Mantis smiles when it tries to lick at him.

He knows Eli is watching him for a while after returning, he does that alot – despite his loud and overbearing presence many times he just sits and stares, taking in their surroundings, scanning them for a possible threat.

Mantis supposes it has to do with the fact that their bond doesn't run both ways at the same strength, maybe Eli tries to understand better, maybe it is for control.

"The hayloft in that big barn over there seems like a good place to hide out for a while, they probably put the animals back in there for the winter and it smells like that too – but for now it's our best option, I suppose."

 _I'm tired._ Mantis turns and yawns behind his mask. _I walked too much._

Eli scoffs but Mantis can tell he feels the same exhaustion pulling at his body. "Fine. Maybe we'll find something better tomorrow."

And he is right, it does reek of barn animals when Mantis takes off his mask experimentally, but the scent of fresh hay is much more overwhelming, mixed with layers and layers of year-old dust caking the wooden roof beams.

He sneezes.

"Maybe you should keep it on." Eli's mindless remark upsets Mantis more than he would like.  
  
“I am fine.” He croaks, maybe a little too defiantly. “But I’m hungry, Eli.”  
  
Rolling his eyes, Eli moves to open the creaking barn shutters to let out some of the stale, heated air. “We don’t have much left, and if you’re looking for chocolate – you ate the last bar on the bus, remember?”  
  
Mantis does remember but he had also hoped that somehow, somewhere Eli had made sure to keep a handful of sweets hidden away for moments like this. When he opens the worn duffel bag all he finds are his friend’s underwhelming ideas of a healthy _and_ convenient diet.  
  
“You shouldn’t just be eating sweet stuff anyway, get something proper for once – maybe you can have some of the dried fruits when you’re done.”  
  
Mantis wrinkles his nose in distaste as he spreads their provisions, kneeling on the dirty wood while Eli arranges a few bales of hay to resemble something akin to a sleeping camp. There are a few slices of stale bread, wrapped in plastic, dried beef – which he knows to be Eli’s favourite and thus tends to avoid eating it, some dry rice and a small container filled with salt that they barely use anyway since most of their foods are processed to hell and back already. Two cans – one with beans and the other with noodles – neither of them very appetising. And of course there’s the dried fruits, apricots and apples, a few berries too, mixed with nuts.  
  
“Can we make a fire?” He asks quietly and watches as Eli spreads their only blanket over the hay – He’s going to be cold tonight.  
  
“Are you daft? This whole place’ll go up in flames if we do – use your hands to warm up stuff if you absolutely have to.”  
  
Mantis nods, now officially in charge of preparing their dinner, it seems. He takes the cans, one for each of them, and wraps his skinny fingers around them, trying to concentrate.  
  
“But don’t make ‘em burst again!” Eli warns him and puts everything but the bread back into the bag.  
  
When Mantis feels the cans are sufficiently heated by the meager heat running through his palms, his powers numbed and weak through his exhaustion he lets Eli open them with his knife and watches carefully as he pours the contents onto the bread slices.  
  
In the end he probably only eats a quart of what Eli does, having to force himself to swallow down the lukewarm mush. If Mantis had been alone he would have not eaten at all, though.  
  
When Eli leans closer to hand Mantis the water he grimaces. “You stink. I do too, we should change.”  
  
“All my things are dirty.” Mantis doesn’t really care, the hay is way to overpowering to really bother about the smell of sweat – also he prefers to be warm, anyway.  
  
“There’s a small lake back over the hill, we can wash our stuff there tomorrow. You could use a bath too.”  
  
For the first time today, Eli smiles at him over his food, grinning even.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
The night rolls over them even colder than expected, Mantis barely manages to fall asleep, gripping tightly onto his coat to feel a little more warmth, a bit more comfort. Eli is there too, his back to him as usual – though he seems decidedly unbothered by the low temperatures.

“Stop thinking so much.” His voice is gruff. “You’re too loud.”  
  
Mantis tries to, he really does – in the end Eli turns around, clearly irritated and lightly shoves at him. “Go to sleep, you moped about being _soo_ tired all day.”  
  
“I shouldn’t have used my power,” Mantis whispers pitifully. “Now my head hurts.”  
  
“Your head always hurts.” Eli growls, not wrong but unhelpful at the same time. “I told you to keep the mask on.”  
  
Mantis winces.  
  
“What?”  
  
He doesn’t know how to answer. He likes how practical Eli tends to be, it complements his own nature – makes them a good team – but sometimes he wishes Eli would try harder to gauge his feelings from their bond.  
  
“Are you _scared_ of me? What did I do?” Eli asks, honestly upset.  
  
Feeling ashamed for misleading his friend, Mantis turns also and shakes his head. “No… you’re good, Eli.”  
  
“Then what are you sulking over? I’m not stupid, you know?”  
  
Eli looks at him expectantly through the dark, and it is truly _dark_ here in the countryside, despite the open shutters the only light that forces it’s way inside immediately gets swallowed up by the greedy hollow of the old building.  
  
“… you don’t like to see my face. I don’t blame you, I know it isn’t nice.”  
  
Laughter is probably the one reaction Mantis has least expected, shrinking in on himself, unsure of how to proceed.  
  
“Are you still going on about that? I don’t care about your face, you should know that, you can read my bloody mind!”  
  
He feels sheepish now, has he not convinced himself that everyone he has ever met sees him as inferior – and in a way Eli does too, but it isn’t threatening, more protective. There is respect too, respect for what he has done for his friend, the atrocities he has committed, his powers.  
  
It is a precious little thing, whatever exists between them, and Mantis feels awful for questioning it over and over again, still burnt, unable to trust – even the one that has never doubted him in turn.  
  
“I told you to stop, it’s annoying.” Eli complains and turns back around. “Stop worrying and go to sleep.”  
  
“But I’m cold…”  
  
Wordlessly Eli sits up to shrug off his own coat and drapes it over Mantis lithe frame, his touch not gentle nor well-meaning, more irritated than anything else – but there is an underlying sense of responsibility and worry.  
  
Maybe they are both on edge lately.  
  
Finally Mantis allows himself to let down his guard and falls asleep lulled by the sounds of the night and his friend’s even breathing.

* * *

  
  
They settle into life at their little hideout quite quickly. Before Mantis even manages to get up the next day Eli has already made a trip to town and organises food and a few more supplies, notably batteries for their torches. When he returns with full bags Mantis is still lazing on the hay, not having bothered to unravel from his cocoon despite it being noon.  
  
“Get up, I checked the lake again and the water seems clean enough.”  
  
Mantis rouses and pokes his head up from the small mountain of dirty clothing. “What if someone sees us? I’d rather have a shower.”  
  
“You’ve become a spoiled brat, you know that? It’s all because I let you stay at that nice hotel!”  
  
“But it’s nice!” Mantis defends himself weakly. “Showers are nice! I never got nice things before!”  
  
Eli stares at him until finally sighing dramatically and rolling his eyes. “Fine, I get it. But swimming in a lake is nice too, you’ll like it.”  
  
Lake is not exactly the word that comes to mind when they climb the hill and spot the tiny body of water in the distance. It’s a pitiful thing, having been used as a fire pond for decades by the locals. Still there is a small wooden dock that Eli immediately occupies, kneeling on the aged wood and scrubbing their clothes with soap meticulously.  
  
Mantis watches warily, dipping his toes into the dark, cold water. He still isn’t wearing his mask – there isn’t really any need for it when the only other mind in his psychic radius is so familiar already. Still he doesn’t like the sun burning down on his bare face, it makes the freckles get so much worse.  
  
Eli hangs the clean laundry up in a nearby tree to dry, then charges down the dock, pulling his shirt over his head and unbuckling his belt on the way.  
  
Mantis looks up in surprise when Eli jumps into the water without hesitation, and scrambles back when it splashes everywhere. For a second he feels panic rising up in his throat, the dark water swallowing up the other boy long enough for Mantis to crawl the edge of the dock and frantically search that black hole with his eyes darting back and forth.

Then Eli pops back up as if nothing has happened, soaked hair sticking to his face, droplets of water stuck to his eyelashes as he grins at Mantis widely.

"Oi, you comin' in or what? What's with the stupid look on your face, did you think I'd drown?"

Mantis regards Eli and the lake with upset, not too happy about his anxieties being so noticeable that they end up as mockery.

He shakes his head. Eli grabs at his arm, soaking Mantis' sleeve.

"It'll be fun, and you do need to wash something awful." Idly Eli lets go of him and paddles backwards, arms crossed behind his neck.

"... I can't swim."

For a second Eli looks genuinely surprised when he really shouldn't be and grins in disbelief. " _What_?"

"I said I can't swim." Mantis raises his voice more, hesitantly, fingers clenching.

"Well, I'll teach you then!" Swimming closer to the dock Eli touches his feet to the bottom of the lake and stands up, raising his arms. "It's quite shallow around here, you'll be fine!"

"... but I don't have a swimsuit."

"There’s nobody around but me so it's not like anyone would care, really. Stop fussing, you don't wear a swimsuit to shower either."

"Because _you're_ not there!" Mantis protests, maybe more ashamed by his own discomfort than the fact that he averts his eyes whenever the water doesn’t cover Eli's naked body  
  
"Oh please, you let me see your face all the time – isn't that way more sacred than getting a glimpse of your skinny arse?"

Eli's patience is reaching its end, and besides all his needling he really just wants Mantis to get clean.

"... turn around!" Mantis demands and Eli does, loudly complaining about how ridiculous he is being.

Stripping down quickly, Mantis tries to avoid looking at his bony freckled legs, ignoring the shameful scars as best as he can. He leaves the briefs on though, not comfortable enough with Eli yet, who never had any issues showing his own body before, even after his voice had started cracking.  
  
He doesn’t want to make Eli wait, for him to get impatient – so he carefully climbs of the dock, hands gripping tight onto the wooden pilings as he lowers his body into the water.  
  
“It’s _so_ cold!” He exclaims in surprise and Eli turns around to laugh at him.  
  
“You can let go off that, try to stand.”  
  
“N-No!” Mantis is about to crawl back out of the water when he feels Eli move through the water behind him and getting closer. “Eli, please!” He begs, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes.  
  
Not replying, Eli just grabs handfuls of water, pouring them over Mantis’ messy mop of hair and grabs the soap from the dock, rubbing it firmly against his scalp.  
  
Mantis calms down a little, because even if it’s a rare occurrence – Eli’s touch _is_ familiar and it feels nice to get all the sweat and grime off, despite the cold. Still the water reaches up to his neck and Mantis nervously holds onto both the dock and Eli’s arm.  
  
“It’ll get better if you’d be so inclined to move a little, y’know?”  
  
Contemplating, Mantis waits for Eli to finish. Maybe he can just blink out of the lake after getting just clean enough that Eli will leave him alone, but the adamant _gentlenes_ s of fingers threading carefully over the scars webbed underneath his hair makes him want to leave less and less.  
  
Just as he gets comfortable Eli promptly stops soaping him up and dunks his head underwater without warning. Unable to control his panic Mantis feels a pulse of energy leave his palms, trying to push up to get out of the eery, wet dark.  
  
He gasps for air when he pulls his head out of the water, fire in his eyes as he spins around to snap at Eli who only laughs at him as if Mantis’ distress is the funniest shit in the world.  
  
Furious, Mantis snarls, watches as Eli’s legs give out beneath him, his mouth forming an _‘o’_ before he drops down into the water as well.  
  
“You little brat!” He growls and tries to pull Mantis back in with him – they wrestle in the water for a few seconds, the rush of adrenaline enough to wash away any potential anxieties.  
  
Mantis finds himself laughing, a lopsided grin plastered on his face.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
They laze around on the meadow by the lake in the semi-shade, letting the sun dry their hair and idly stretching their limbs towards the sky.  
  
Mantis chews on some of the candies Eli acquired in town, but subsequently the smaller boy passes out after a while, lulled to sleep by exhausted limbs and the comforting sticky sweetness.  
  
Eli lets himself rest too, for once relishing one of the few peaceful moments in his life – although those must’ve surely increased ever since he’s met Mantis. Maybe he should be grateful for the seemingly mindless loyality, the protection – but he knows better than to question their connection.  
  
It’s different from all the other boys that have followed him so far – not just his build or the colour of his skin, the way he didn’t understand a lick of English when they met. The fact that Mantis didn’t have a name his parents gave him, or one he took for himself – but instead let Eli pick it for him as if he was a pet.

And at first surely it had seemed like that; the psychic boy being a useful asset in Eli’s war against his father and the people who had condemned him to this sorry fate. But Eli had quickly learned that there was more to his new companion when he had found himself dependent on him as well – still waters run deep and all that.  
  
And it is true, when Mantis did finally pick up on the language, stumbling over unfamiliar words with a thick accent it quickly became clear that he had quite a lot to say about Eli’s way of doing things. Maybe it is annoying and bothersome to deal with him from time to time, but Eli prefers the occasional conflict over the awkward silences of mutual misunderstandings – despite the weird thing that connects their minds and gnaws at his thoughts steadily it could be hard to actually read the other without ending up frustrated.  
  
Eli cracks open one eye and follow the curve of Mantis’ naked and skinny form – maybe he wouldn’t do it if Mantis was awake, but even in his sleep his friend is shy; legs pressed together and arms wrapped around his chest, uselessly soaked briefs kicked off and drying in the grass by his feet.  
  
 _Friend_. That’s right – he has eventually accepted that that must be what they are, and sure, they are _also_ partners in crime, complicit in their shared desire for revenge – but for some reason the little freak has made Eli feel something he has never experienced before. _Human_.  
  
It’s ironic because Mantis seems anything but that himself, but maybe it’s just a cruel twist of fate on top of all the other rubbish thrown their way to bring the two of them together like that.  
  
Mantis stirs and like so often before Eli wishes he could just reach out and touch him in a way he really wanted to, not how his head told him he should be doing. It’s not fair that Mantis gets to sleep like that, peacefully and safe, while Eli has to be alert at all times to protect him – but that’s just what he does, what he is supposed to be doing.  
  
Because that’s what friends _do_ , or something.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
The night is cold again, but they are clean and comfortable with a full belly, sleeping closer than before, Eli somehow less gruff than usual, despite Mantis’ misbehaviour at the lake. They don’t often get that close, not unless it is _really_ freezing or one of them is sick, or hurt, or had one of those dreams you just cannot ignore again. It happens.  
  
Mantis doesn’t know if he likes when it happens, because Eli’s breath on his neck and the insistent hand on his chest leave a bitter taste in his mouth for reasons completely unrelated to the generous comfort his friend is offering.  
  
It’s not Eli’s fault, he hadn’t been there to protect him back then yet.  
  
“Let’s go swimming again tomorrow.” Eli whispers and Mantis knows it is not a suggestion.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Mantis dares to go in further today, holding onto Eli’s arms as he kicks his legs just like a little froglet, like Eli has showed him. When that works out fine, Eli holds him up around the waist while they move through the water and Mantis is _swimming_ , swallowing way too much water because he keeps going “Look, Eli! Look! I’m doing it!”  
  
When he finally turns his head to see if Eli is _really_ looking he sees him perched on the dock, at least 20 feet away, grinning and waving.  
  
Mantis feels his heart drop, messes up the rhythm and sinks into the dark. At first he waits for his feet to touch the bottom of the lake, because _it isn’t that deep_ , right?  
  
But it never happens and the water is so dark he can barely make out the light from the surface anymore – just keeps sinking down until he gasps in fear, water filling his throat.  
  
His limbs are too heavy, yet he kicks and struggles to somehow dig himself back up, but to no avail. Just as he starts contemplating to just breathe in the water he feels a strong grip dig under his arms, painful and rough.  
  
The sun is too bright when they resurface, and while Mantis wants to shout and curse at Eli all he can do is cling to his shoulders and gasp for air, wheezing pathetically. He is dragged to shore and laid down on the soft grass, still spitting out water.  
  
Eli looks terrified and it serves him right, his eyes are wide but his posture is stiff, not indicating any kind of weakness. But Eli’s face can be a damn traitor at times.  
  
“You were swimming.” Eli mumbles. “Swimming on your own.”  
  
Mantis slaps his hand away when he reaches out. “ _You said you wouldn’t let go!_ ”  
  
“I wasn’t planning to! But you were doing really well! If I had told you, you would’ve lost all confidence!”  
  
“ _Shut up!_ ” Mantis cries and hides his face in his hands. Eli does, but he also moves closer to wrap his arms around Mantis and pull him closer to his chest.  
  
They just sit there, naked and wet, clinging to each other until Mantis’ breathing finally evens out and he pulls away, covering his chest with crossed arms. He glares at Eli petulantly.  
  
“…I want chocolate.” Mantis demands and Eli scrambles to get him some.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
“There was someone following me in town today.” Eli tells him a few days later as they sit by their lake, lazing around and smoking stolen cigarettes.  
  
“It’s just your imagination.” Mantis replies nonchalantly and draws shapes onto Eli’s bare legs with the ashes. “Soon you’re going to suspect the sheep of spying on us.”  
  
“I’m serious.” Eli grunts. “He wasn’t dressed like the townsfolk, had one of those long, ugly coats on. Fuckin’ donkey, that one. It’s almost thirty degrees out, hell.”  
  
Stiffening, Mantis looks at him. “I don’t want them to find me, Eli...”  
  
“I know. They won’t, let’s just leave – we’ll start packing when we get back to the barn. I’m getting bored of this place anyway.”  
  
“But… I like it here. I like... swimming with you, Eli.”  
  
“…”  
  
Mantis opens his mouth to speak again, but before he can start Eli interrupts him.  
  
“Stop it. This isn’t a game.”  
  
“But–“  
  
“ _No!_ ” Eli sits up. “If they find us they’ll take you away to that awful place and shoot me, or worse! Do you want that Mantis? Do you want them to take you!”  
  
“I want to _stay_ here with you! Finally you are being nice and calm and now you are all angry again! Why are you so scared, Eli!?”  
  
Rubbing his face, Eli growls and falls back into the grass. “Fine, we’ll stay one more day! But don’t expect me to come running for you if they really do come and snatch you – remember, I’ll be dead.”  
  
Mantis snorts at that and rolls closer, grabbing Eli’s cigarette from his hands and taking a shaky drag from it. “You don’t die, Eli. Don’t be scared.”  
  
He shoots him an irritated look. “I’m not scared, stupid–“ but then there’s a shirt in his face because Mantis has shrugged it of, cigarette bud carelessly thrown into the shrubs behind them as he runs towards the dock.  
  
Eli’d rather stay back than give into this childish play, but Mantis still is quite the poor swimmer, and letting him into the water all by himself would be irresponsible. He huffs and gets up to follow, shrugging off his own clothing – too tempted to make a competition out of this.  
  
Catching up with Mantis is easy, he’s just sitting there on the dock letting his legs dangle off – Eli leaps past him and makes sure that he jumps in close enough for Mantis to get water all over his front.  
  
Laughing and squealing in joy Mantis kicks at him uselessly until Eli grabs his leg and pulls him into the lake with him – this time though, somehow their little fight is short lived and Eli stops when Mantis simply holds onto him, his shallow chest pressing up against his own with that barely noticeable curve.  
  
There have been moments like this before, though they never talked about any of that, they didn’t have to. Eli doesn’t want to think too hard about all the possible implications this _thing_ between them could hold.  
  
Cold lips pressed against Eli’s neck, Mantis is so silent, but Eli pulls back to lean down, grabbing Mantis by the chin and searches his face for clues, tracing the little pink lines of raised scar tissue at the corners of his mouth.  
  
Mantis looks away when he kisses him, but his grip on Eli is so tight it almost hurts. He tastes sickly sweet and Eli wonders idly if there is any connection between Mantis’ affinity for candy and them getting close like this.  
  
“Eli, you’re too loud–“ Mantis rasps against him, his ugly little face blushing unevenly. “I can hear your thoughts...”  
  
“Shut up.” Eli tells him, stealing another kiss, more insistent and aggressive this time as the lake engulfs them and hides their sins away from the rest of the world.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
The night they leave Mantis makes a point of petting every bloody fucking sheep on their way and Eli let’s him, because of course he does.  
  
He genuinely enjoys conflicts, was made for them even, in a way – but Eli has accepted that _this_ is the one fight that just isn’t worth an undertaking and while he tries to shield his thoughts from his friend’s attentive mind, Mantis turns to knowingly stare at him from behind his mask, sharp eyes smiling like those of a fox.  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
